[SteveC]

Just picked up a new X4M and thought I’d give a little feedback.

I had an X5 and loved the driving position and command of the road the car provided. At one point, while waiting for the release of the current M3 I bought an M135i. What a red hot chilli-pepper of a car. i loved the engine for its free revving nature and the gearbox was a peach....shifting up and down flawlessly between ratios...always in the gear you needed....it felt almost ‘intuitive’ in its ratio selection. I could drive it in manual paddle mode, but my gear selections were almost always inferior to ‘D’ mode.

I tried the then new M3 and wasn’t mega impressed so i kept the M135i a while longer then traded it for an M5. Loved its performance, comfort and luxury....not so much its DCT gearbox which would click through the ratios perfectly then get to 7th and ‘stick’....never kicking down unless VERY SERIOUS demands were made or some buttons pressed.
Moved to an M4C 6MT and instantly bonded with that car. Drove it mostly with sport suspension and throttle and it felt firm and beautifully planted and seriously responsive. The engine was lovely with bags of torque and a lovely top end hit of power. The only minor issues were traction.....it paid to be a little judicious in the wet or even damp, when it could break traction in 4th gear when overtaking if you gave it too many beans and the Comp-pack seats, which were good for a maximum 200 miles before aches, pains and numbness would impair the experience.

So now I’ve just given back the M4C and picked up an X4MC and its like the best points of all the above, rolled into one. Beautiful driving position, fast revving, high performance engine coupled to a beautifully slick and highly responsive 8AT, luxurious interior and great handling including surprisingly competent suspension. Based on reviews I was expecting it to ride like my M-Sport X5 which was very firm and quite choppy. Instead its far more like my M4, firm but beautifully planted, well damped and stable. On bumpy B roads its best in Sport, while on motorways Comfort is probably its optimum setting.

For me its the ideal car. I liked driving an X5 SAV for its driving position, the M135i for its transmission, the M4 for the handling, an M5 for its outright performance and comfort and this X4M does it all, seemingly having the most loved characteristics of all my previous cars. I’m guessing that economy will not be one of its virtues, but beyond that I think I’m going to enjoy this car a great deal. The seats both look AND feel great, the steering in comfort is nicely weighted with reasonable feedback, the gearbox serves up supreme engine performance at the mere flex of an ankle and the handling seems to defy physics with M4 traction issues seemingly solved (at least on partial throttle).
If i had to describe the car in only four words, its would be ‘mega confident high performance’.
Interestingly I bought the car from a dealer 200 miles away so when picking it up i did check the tyres before driving away and they were all substantially over inflated. If I’d driven the car as provided, there’s no doubt my initial impression would have included ‘overly firm suspension’.

[sf2360]

Congrats and Enjoy. I feel the same way about the M4. Really liking the X4M.

[BOGX4M]

Originally Posted by SteveC

Just picked up a new X4M.

For me its the ideal car. I liked driving an X5 SAV for its driving position, the M135i for its transmission, the M4 for the handling, an M5 for its outright performance and comfort and this X4M does it all, seemingly having the most loved characteristics of all my previous cars. If i had to describe the car in only four words, its would be ‘mega confident high performance’.

BEST DESCRIPTION!

BMW should quote you if they want to sell more X3M/X4M!

[Max Well]

Originally Posted by SteveC

Just picked up a new X4M and thought I’d give a little feedback. ... So now I’ve just given back the M4C and picked up an X4MC and its like the best points of all the above, rolled into one. Beautiful driving position, fast revving, high performance engine coupled to a beautifully slick and highly responsive 8AT, luxurious interior and great handling including surprisingly competent suspension. ... For me its the ideal car. ...

Enjoyed reading your thoughts, Steve - thanks for sharing. We feel the same way about our F97s.

[moff]

Great review and congrats on the purchase. I like reviews like this from ex M owners as it justifies many thoughts that I and others have, also positions well against the media reviews.

I would say that the major gripe for me, which can't be fixed is the booming noise over broken tarmac. I just don't understand why it's so bad?

As for performance, it's epic. BM3 is transformational too, and I had bet that it puts the X3M pretty much in the same performance category as a stock F90 M5.

[spta97]

Originally Posted by moff

Great review and congrats on the purchase. I like reviews like this from ex M owners as it justifies many thoughts that I and others have, also positions well against the media reviews.

I would say that the major gripe for me, which can't be fixed is the booming noise over broken tarmac. I just don't understand why it's so bad?

As for performance, it's epic. BM3 is transformational too, and I had bet that it puts the X3M pretty much in the same performance category as a stock F90 M5.

I agree with the booms over bumps.

I also agree with the OP.

What really gets me is the transmission. It seems to read my mind - when I give it a nice amount of gas it holds the gear for much longer in comfort mode without me doing any button pushing.

Though it is akin to peer pressure because I’m trying to stay within the break in constrains. Those 1200 miles can’t come soon enough!

[allan1630]

Originally Posted by SteveC

Just picked up a new X4M and thought I'd give a little feedback.

I had an X5 and loved the driving position and command of the road the car provided. At one point, while waiting for the release of the current M3 I bought an M135i. What a red hot chilli-pepper of a car. i loved the engine for its free revving nature and the gearbox was a peach....shifting up and down flawlessly between ratios...always in the gear you needed....it felt almost 'intuitive' in its ratio selection. I could drive it in manual paddle mode, but my gear selections were almost always inferior to 'D' mode.

I tried the then new M3 and wasn't mega impressed so i kept the M135i a while longer then traded it for an M5. Loved its performance, comfort and luxury....not so much its DCT gearbox which would click through the ratios perfectly then get to 7th and 'stick'....never kicking down unless VERY SERIOUS demands were made or some buttons pressed.
Moved to an M4C 6MT and instantly bonded with that car. Drove it mostly with sport suspension and throttle and it felt firm and beautifully planted and seriously responsive. The engine was lovely with bags of torque and a lovely top end hit of power. The only minor issues were traction.....it paid to be a little judicious in the wet or even damp, when it could break traction in 4th gear when overtaking if you gave it too many beans and the Comp-pack seats, which were good for a maximum 200 miles before aches, pains and numbness would impair the experience.

So now I've just given back the M4C and picked up an X4MC and its like the best points of all the above, rolled into one. Beautiful driving position, fast revving, high performance engine coupled to a beautifully slick and highly responsive 8AT, luxurious interior and great handling including surprisingly competent suspension. Based on reviews I was expecting it to ride like my M-Sport X5 which was very firm and quite choppy. Instead its far more like my M4, firm but beautifully planted, well damped and stable. On bumpy B roads its best in Sport, while on motorways Comfort is probably its optimum setting.

For me its the ideal car. I liked driving an X5 SAV for its driving position, the M135i for its transmission, the M4 for the handling, an M5 for its outright performance and comfort and this X4M does it all, seemingly having the most loved characteristics of all my previous cars. I'm guessing that economy will not be one of its virtues, but beyond that I think I'm going to enjoy this car a great deal. The seats both look AND feel great, the steering in comfort is nicely weighted with reasonable feedback, the gearbox serves up supreme engine performance at the mere flex of an ankle and the handling seems to defy physics with M4 traction issues seemingly solved (at least on partial throttle).
If i had to describe the car in only four words, its would be 'mega confident high performance'.
Interestingly I bought the car from a dealer 200 miles away so when picking it up i did check the tyres before driving away and they were all substantially over inflated. If I'd driven the car as provided, there's no doubt my initial impression would have included 'overly firm suspension'.

Originally Posted by SteveC

Just picked up a new X4M and thought I'd give a little feedback.

I had an X5 and loved the driving position and command of the road the car provided. At one point, while waiting for the release of the current M3 I bought an M135i. What a red hot chilli-pepper of a car. i loved the engine for its free revving nature and the gearbox was a peach....shifting up and down flawlessly between ratios...always in the gear you needed....it felt almost 'intuitive' in its ratio selection. I could drive it in manual paddle mode, but my gear selections were almost always inferior to 'D' mode.

I tried the then new M3 and wasn't mega impressed so i kept the M135i a while longer then traded it for an M5. Loved its performance, comfort and luxury....not so much its DCT gearbox which would click through the ratios perfectly then get to 7th and 'stick'....never kicking down unless VERY SERIOUS demands were made or some buttons pressed.
Moved to an M4C 6MT and instantly bonded with that car. Drove it mostly with sport suspension and throttle and it felt firm and beautifully planted and seriously responsive. The engine was lovely with bags of torque and a lovely top end hit of power. The only minor issues were traction.....it paid to be a little judicious in the wet or even damp, when it could break traction in 4th gear when overtaking if you gave it too many beans and the Comp-pack seats, which were good for a maximum 200 miles before aches, pains and numbness would impair the experience.

So now I've just given back the M4C and picked up an X4MC and its like the best points of all the above, rolled into one. Beautiful driving position, fast revving, high performance engine coupled to a beautifully slick and highly responsive 8AT, luxurious interior and great handling including surprisingly competent suspension. Based on reviews I was expecting it to ride like my M-Sport X5 which was very firm and quite choppy. Instead its far more like my M4, firm but beautifully planted, well damped and stable. On bumpy B roads its best in Sport, while on motorways Comfort is probably its optimum setting.

For me its the ideal car. I liked driving an X5 SAV for its driving position, the M135i for its transmission, the M4 for the handling, an M5 for its outright performance and comfort and this X4M does it all, seemingly having the most loved characteristics of all my previous cars. I'm guessing that economy will not be one of its virtues, but beyond that I think I'm going to enjoy this car a great deal. The seats both look AND feel great, the steering in comfort is nicely weighted with reasonable feedback, the gearbox serves up supreme engine performance at the mere flex of an ankle and the handling seems to defy physics with M4 traction issues seemingly solved (at least on partial throttle).
If i had to describe the car in only four words, its would be 'mega confident high performance'.
Interestingly I bought the car from a dealer 200 miles away so when picking it up i did check the tyres before driving away and they were all substantially over inflated. If I'd driven the car as provided, there's no doubt my initial impression would have included 'overly firm suspension'.

I too came from a x5 40d m sport and so far i have found the ride to be better than the x5... I have had 2x rs4's and a c63 prior to the x4m and so far the ride on the x4m is up there with anything. looking forward to the 1200miles to see the full potential of the s58

[Nuckle]

Originally Posted by SteveC

Just picked up a new X4M and thought I'd give a little feedback.

I had an X5 and loved the driving position and command of the road the car provided. At one point, while waiting for the release of the current M3 I bought an M135i. What a red hot chilli-pepper of a car. i loved the engine for its free revving nature and the gearbox was a peach....shifting up and down flawlessly between ratios...always in the gear you needed....it felt almost 'intuitive' in its ratio selection. I could drive it in manual paddle mode, but my gear selections were almost always inferior to 'D' mode.

I tried the then new M3 and wasn't mega impressed so i kept the M135i a while longer then traded it for an M5. Loved its performance, comfort and luxury....not so much its DCT gearbox which would click through the ratios perfectly then get to 7th and 'stick'....never kicking down unless VERY SERIOUS demands were made or some buttons pressed.
Moved to an M4C 6MT and instantly bonded with that car. Drove it mostly with sport suspension and throttle and it felt firm and beautifully planted and seriously responsive. The engine was lovely with bags of torque and a lovely top end hit of power. The only minor issues were traction.....it paid to be a little judicious in the wet or even damp, when it could break traction in 4th gear when overtaking if you gave it too many beans and the Comp-pack seats, which were good for a maximum 200 miles before aches, pains and numbness would impair the experience.

So now I've just given back the M4C and picked up an X4MC and its like the best points of all the above, rolled into one. Beautiful driving position, fast revving, high performance engine coupled to a beautifully slick and highly responsive 8AT, luxurious interior and great handling including surprisingly competent suspension. Based on reviews I was expecting it to ride like my M-Sport X5 which was very firm and quite choppy. Instead its far more like my M4, firm but beautifully planted, well damped and stable. On bumpy B roads its best in Sport, while on motorways Comfort is probably its optimum setting.

For me its the ideal car. I liked driving an X5 SAV for its driving position, the M135i for its transmission, the M4 for the handling, an M5 for its outright performance and comfort and this X4M does it all, seemingly having the most loved characteristics of all my previous cars. I'm guessing that economy will not be one of its virtues, but beyond that I think I'm going to enjoy this car a great deal. The seats both look AND feel great, the steering in comfort is nicely weighted with reasonable feedback, the gearbox serves up supreme engine performance at the mere flex of an ankle and the handling seems to defy physics with M4 traction issues seemingly solved (at least on partial throttle).
If i had to describe the car in only four words, its would be 'mega confident high performance'.
Interestingly I bought the car from a dealer 200 miles away so when picking it up i did check the tyres before driving away and they were all substantially over inflated. If I'd driven the car as provided, there's no doubt my initial impression would have included 'overly firm suspension'.

A message to the OP! Thank you for messing up my day! I have been gearing up and searching over pretty much all of the X3MC's in the country, comparing deals and running lease numbers. Had my wife go drive a couple this past weekend. I was all geared up to start sending out offers to several dealers. Then I read your post. Now I have to double my efforts to include the X4MC.

Seriously, thank you for your write up.

I previously owned an X5M and did not consider the X6M because I thought it was ugly. The X4M is anything but ugly. It really is a very nice option.

Please if you have time tell me a little more about storage. It will be my wife's daily driver which means hauling my daughters softball gear around as well as picking up stuff for the dental offices she manages. Do you feel you are missing much in the storage department?

Thanks again for your write up.

[kzg1969]

Thats a good line up of cares to compare with -

[AlpineWhite_SJ]

best part about when I drive these cars is that whereas I have high expectations of how my M3 should handle in a situation, I keep expecting to have an SUV moment in the X3MC but every time I turn a corner or give it some throttle, it defies my expectations. Can’t help but smile, because it’s size makes it feel like it won’t behave the way it does.

[cfm56d7b]

One of the best reviews ever written. I am also exploring X4MC for the same reasons.